Wildbore & Gibbons

With effect from 1 October 2011, the amount of damages that can be claimed in a trade mark infringement action before the Patents County Court has been capped at £500,000.

It is now a year since new procedures were introduced to make the Patents County Court more attractive to smaller businesses seeking to enforce their patent and trade mark rights.   Since 1 October 2010, the Court has heard nine full trials, varying in length from one day to three days.   13 more trials are due to be heard before the end of 2011.

The new cap on damages should mean that businesses bringing or defending less complex infringement cases will no longer face unknown levels of financial risk. According to official scales published earlier this year, the maximum award of costs by the Court to a successful party in an infringement action was set at approximately £134,000.